Not a Typical Potter
by SoundWriter
Summary: Albus isn't a typical Potter, and his Sorting just proved that. Please review!


Typical

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. And I never will. End of story.**

Albus watched keenly as his parents waved him goodbye, his younger sister Lily looking both happy and sad to see him go. She had always seemed to prefer James anyway, for some reason. Shaking his head, Albus tried to put all thoughts of family behind him as the scarlet Hogwarts Express whisked him farther and farther away from all he had ever known.

The quiet boy eventually found a compartment with his cousin and best friend Rose Weasley, a girl with knowing brown eyes and wildly curly red hair. Confidently, she sat down next to a smug-looking boy with a pointed chin. "What's your name? I'm Rose Weasley!" she exclaimed, thrusting out a freckled hand with grace inherited from her father, apparently. Little to none.

"Scorpius Malfoy," said the boy, but did not return the exuberant handshake. Instead he smiled wryly and, in an attempt to start a conversation, said to Albus and another copper-haired girl in the compartment, "What's your name? Other than her, I mean." Albus just rolled his eyes. After THAT handshake, how could anyone not know who Rose Weasley was?

"Ella Meyers, call me Ellie," said the other girl with a grin. "Half-blood, before you ask." It was then that Albus noticed how beautiful she was. And he loved her eyes. Toffee colored, like Aunt Hermione's and Rose's, and tan skin. "You?" she asked, gesturing to Albus.

"Albus Potter, but please call me Al," stated the dark-haired boy, blushing.

"Potter? Really? As in HARRY Potter?" The conversation carried on like this for hours, with Scorpius and Al interjecting sarcastic comments every now and then. Unsurprisingly, the girls were doing most of the talking. Al began to gradually doze off…

"Al? We have to change into the robes now. The Sorting's gonna start soon!" said Ellie, waving a hand near the boy's face. As he hurriedly slipped into his neatly pressed Hogwarts robes, Albus couldn't help but wonder what house he would be in. Uncle Ron said he and Rose would be disinherited if they weren't in Gryffindor, and James kept teasing him about being in Slytherin, and how disappointed his dad would be if he was put in the house of the man who murdered his grandparents! Even though his dad had said it would be fine, was it really? Wouldn't that mean he wasn't a real Potter? His mind spun in a million directions-_GryffindorSlytherinDisownedPotterAlbusSeverusPotte r_

And then he decided that he, Albus, was tired of it. Tired of the constant, "Harry Potter's your dad? Really?" and being compared to his _heroic _father and his _talented _mother and his _charismatic _sister and his _hilarious _brother. And that's what set him apart from the rest, with their scarlet-and-gold personalities.

"First years, o'er here!" bellowed Hagrid after about 15 more minutes, looking as huge as ever. Helping the rather intimidated first years onto rowboats, he winked at Albus and gave him a smile. Albus returned the smile, albeit unenthusiastically. He was torn between excitement and worry.

As they pulled up to the magnificent castle, the first years couldn't help but marvel. Stone walls and majestic towers and thousands of years of magic stared back. As soon as Hagrid knocked, a stern looking, elderly woman with her hair in a tight bun approached the eager eleven-year-olds.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said quietly, somehow managing to silence the crowd of 30 hollering boys and girls. "This castle will be your home for the next seven years. You will laugh here, cry here, and most importantly, learn here. But before we begin, you must be Sorted into one of four Houses, each that value different qualities. Each has produced its share about outstanding witches and wizards. Your house will be like your family while you are here. Good behavior results in winning House points, and disobeying rules will result in losing House points. At the end of the year, a house cup will be awarded to the house with most points. Is that clear?" she asked severely, to which Albus nodded. "By the way, I am Professor McGonagall, Transfiguration teacher."

Beckoning them into the Great Hall, McGonagall paused and let the already overwhelmed first years take in the Great Hall. _Is there even a ceiling?_ Al wondered, but Rose, who had been surprisingly quiet the whole time, quickly answered his unspoken question. "The ceiling's been bewitched to look like the sky. I read it in Hogwarts, A History!" Scorpius rolled his eyes, but Ellie looked fascinated. Al, however, had stopped paying attention moments ago when he heard James screaming to his friends.

"That's Al! Future Gryffindor! Or Slytherin!" he shouted, grinning at Al, who just shook his head at his loud brother.

All of a sudden, a patched hat that Al hadn't even noticed opened its brim, and the hall was immediately silenced as it began its traditional Sorting song.

"Oh, you might think I'm old,

Or as filthy as a rat,

But I beg you, don't judge, I'm the Sorting Hat!

I decide where you belong,

Singing my own thoughtful song.

Thoughtful like a Ravenclaw, where your smarts will shine through.

Or are you cunning like a Slytherin and do what you set your mind to?

Brave like a Gryffindor, a lion at heart?

Or do you belong in Hufflepuff, where they don't fall apart?

I decide, your future rests with me.

The Sorting Hat will put you where you'll forever be!

As the hat finished its song, the tables in the Great Hall erupted in cheers. The first person was called up to the stool by McGonagall. "Ackinson, Kyle!"

A moment's hesitation: "RAVENCLAW!"

"Buckley, Ramona!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Belby, Gregory!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

And so on. Ella and Scorpius made their way to the Slytherin table, leaving Albus even more anxious to see where he'd be placed.

"Potter, Albus!" called Professor McGonagall at last, smiling reminiscently as she watched the third messy-haired youth approach the Sorting Hat. _He'll be in Gryffindor. Where else, with relatives like that? _ Albus quickly slipped the hat on his own head, without waiting for the Professor. McGonagall raised a long silver eyebrow, which was the last thing Albus saw before the ancient wizarding cap slipped over his emerald eyes.

_Independent, aren't you? Ambitious, resourceful, daring…_Questioned a small voice inside Albus's head. _Not like the others, not like them at all, no. You're different, special… Smart, but that's not your only quality. Too distinctive for a Hufflepuff. So that leaves Gryffindor and Slytherin. What will be your destiny, Albus Severus Potter?_

The intelligent boy thought long and hard. If he wasn't in Gryffindor, his family would probably disown him, according to Uncle Ron. But then again, who wants to be just another lion, when he could be something special? And who believed Ron, really? Finally, the boy's decision rang out through the hall. "SLYTHERIN!" _So be it, _said the patched hat before Albus set it down on the stool.

Shocked gasps could be heard anywhere in the castle, except for the Slytherin table. "We got Potter, we got Potter!" they cheered, thunderous applause shaking the building. James stared, rendered speechless for once in his life, and watched as Albus took his seat among his fellow snakes. Sitting down next to Scorpius, who grinned at him, and that beautiful girl Ellie Meyers, the raven-haired boy knew he was finally home.

**A/N: I've had this idea for a while now, and I always saw Albus following in his namesake Severus's footsteps. Please, please, please review, and I'll review one of your stories too. Constructive criticism is always welcomed. :)**


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